10 Things Everyone Should Know About The 1976 Ford Gran Torino Starsky And Hutch Car (2024)

The classic action television series Starsky & Hutch may not have invented the buddy cop genre, but it certainly helped popularize it. The show, about two undercover police detectives, Sergeant David Michael Starsky and Sergeant Kenneth Richard "Hutch" Hutchinson, was set on the mean streets of fictional Bay City, California and ran for four seasons. Though Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul played the title characters, the real star of the show was Starsky's red 1976 Ford Grand Torino with big white vector stripes.

Both Glaser and Soul did amazing jobs with their interesting, complex characters, and the show was extremely well-written, with intense, action-packed storylines, but the truth is, audiences tuned in for that cool car with the wicked paint job. W.C. Fields had a famous quote about not working with kids or animals, because they will chew the scenery, but badass muscle cars should be added to the list of things that will outshine a star. Here are some interesting things about this A-list scene-stealing TV car that everyone should know.

10 It Was A Muscle Car In Name Only

The Fantasy Fast Car

The reason why nobody ever questioned the sanity of two undercover cops tooling around the 'hood in the most impossibly high-profile set of wheels is because scripted television is make-believe. Continuing with the fantasy fiction, the Starsky & Hutch 1976 Ford Gran Torino was depicted as a speedy street machine, leaving burnout marks down the street when, in realty, this car was on the slow side and more than likely left snail trails.

1976 Gran Torino Power and Performance

The first cars delivered to the show came equipped with 315ci Windsor V-8 that made just 154 horsepower. Considering the vehicle weighed over 4,000 pounds, that's a power-to-weight ratio that adds up to amazing sluggishness. The stunt coordinator on the show actually swapped out the rear ends to get some gears that would give this behemoth a little more acceleration. In subsequent seasons, the Gran Torino came with slightly bigger engines, but anything short of a race-tuned 429 was never going to make this boat move.

9 It Was Nicknamed "The Striped Tomato"

Conspicuously Red

In the early stages of production of Starsky & Hutch, executive producer Aaron Spelling took star Paul Michael Glaser out to the lot to introduce him to his character's ride and the actor took an immediate dislike to it, commenting it looked like a "striped tomato." The writers of the show seized upon his discontent and worked that derogatory term for the red Gran Torino with the white vector stripes into the scripts.

See Also

Here's Where The Ford Gran Torino From Starsky & Hutch Is TodayGran Torino: A Closer Look At The Famous Starsky & Hutch Car - SlashGearThe Starsky And Hutch Car: Was The Ford Gran Torino Worthy Of The Silver Screen?Starsky & Hutch: 18 Facts About The Duo's Gran Torino

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Starsky & Hutch Gran Torino Upgrades

• Custom paint job
• Rear air shocks
• Chrome exhaust tips
• 5-slot aluminum wheels
• Fat rear tires

The first Gran Torinos used on the show were delivered in pure red and the stripes were then painted on them. After the initial run, the cars came in white, and the vector stripes were masked off, while the rest of the car was painted red. It may be the most brilliant paint scheme in automotive history, as the '76 Ford Gran Torino was anything but a performance vehicle and yet looked lightning fast, partly because those stripes looked a bit like lightning bolts.

8 It Was Almost A Camaro

Only Fords Need Apply

Performance limitations aside, the Starsky & Hutch Gran Torino was undeniably cool-looking and helped make the show a success, but things could have been much different. Series creator William Blinn originally wanted the undercover detectives to cruise around in a green Chevrolet Camaro convertible, because that was his beloved ride growing up. As it turned out, the production company had a deal with the Ford Motor Company's Studio-TV Car Loan Program.

Starsky & Hutch Fast Facts

• Premiered: April 30, 1975
• Network: ABC
• Distributor: Columbia Pictures Television
• Producer: Spelling-Goldberg Productions
• Seasons: 4
• Episodes: 93
• Final episode: May 15, 1979

Contractually, there could be no Chevys, only Fords, but obviously, pony cars were still on the table. For whatever reason, it never occurred to anyone involved to have David Michael Starsky and Kenneth Richard "Hutch" Hutchinson speeding after the bad guys in an actually fast Ford Mustang Boss 429 or a Mach 1. In a weird bit of irony, Chevrolet was one of the biggest sponsors for the show and many other competing automakers like Dodge also bought ad spots on the prime-time series.

7 Ford Sold Replicas To The Public

The Ultimate Piece of TV Merch

Starsky & Hutch was an instant success in its first season, finishing the year as the #16 show in the country, with a 22.5 share in the A.C. Nielsen Ratings. ABC and Columbia Pictures Television didn't waste any time exploiting this hit and merchandised the hell out of the series with games, lunchboxes, and, of course, miniature replica cars. Ford got in on the replica business too, though on a one-to-one scale, producing special edition Starsky & Hutch 1976 Gran Torinos and sold them to the public.

Gran Torino Stats

• Production Years: 1968-1976
• Body Styles: 2-door hardtop, 2-door fastback, 2-door convertible, 4-door sedan, 4-door station wagon
• Engines: 200ci I-6, 289ci V-8, 302ci V-8, 390ci, V-8, 427ci V-8, 428ci, V-8
• Transmissions: 3-speed manual, 4-speed, manual, 3-speed automatic
• 1976 production: 193,096 units

Unfortunately, Ford had not anticipated the success of the show and had already discontinued the Gran Torino after the 1976 model year, so they did what they could and painted some existing stock like the TV star car. The cars came with the 351ci V-8, but lacked many other details like the cool wheels and aggressive rake. Ford made 1,000 of these cars for American customers, with another 305 for export, and one of them ended up on set as a back-up car.

6 There Were An Estimated 10 Cars Used For The Show

No Gran Torinos Were Hurt

Being an action show, Starsky & Hutch definitely had stunt driving sequences, but nothing on the destructive scale of The Dukes of Hazzard, and thus didn't go through as many vehicles. Nobody can say for sure, but the best estimates are that for the entire production run, a total of 10 1976 Ford Gran Torinos were used. Some were stunt cars, while others were used for interior shots, and the best looking ones were reserved for "beauty shots."

Best TV Show Cars

• The Dukes of Hazzard - "General Lee" 1969 Dodge Charger
• Starsky & Hutch - 1976 Ford Gran Torino
• Knight Rider - "KITT" 1982 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
• The Green Hornet - "Black Beauty" 1966 Chrysler Imperial Crown
• Magnum P.I. - Ferrari 308 GTS

The stunts in Starsky & Hutch were more along the lines of realistic police chases, rather than over-the-top aerial jumps like in The Dukes of Hazzard. The Duke Boys wrecked on average one car per episode and ran through over 300 Dodge Chargers in the series' run, while the undercover detectives never totaled a single Striped Tomato. One stunt driver managed to blow up a Gran Torino engine on set, but it was replaced, and the car was fine.

5 The Gran Torino Was Overdubbed

Gran Torinos Are From Detroit, Not Austria

Arnold Schwarzenegger's first feature film was the ridiculously bad low-budget 1970 stinker, Hercules in New York. Credited as "Arnold Strong" producers felt his Austrian accent was too thick, so they dubbed his voice, which makes the movie that much funnier. A 1976 Ford Gran Torino with an anemic 145-horsepower and single exhaust sounds a bit wimpy, so the car was also overdubbed on the Starsky & Hutch show.

Sound editors piped in the tones of a high-revving, horsepower-cranking V-8 to make it seem like the Striped Tomato had something bad under the hood. The other thing about this dubbing that was off is the distinct sounds of slamming gears with a four-speed, despite the fact that all the show cars were equipped with automatic transmissions. Producers claimed that California law prevented them from souping up the Gran Torinos, but that sounds like an excuse more than a real thing.

4 The Striped Tomato Became A Movie Star

The Gran Torino Joins the A-list

Because every popular TV show from the 1970s and 1980s have been turned into a movie, Starsky & Hutch was adapted in 2004 as the appropriately titled Starsky & Hutch. Starring Ben Stiller as Detective David Starsky and Owen Wilson as Detective Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson, the movie put a comedic spin on the gritty TV show. Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul had cameos, which was cool, but more importantly, the 1976 Ford Gran Torino was featured prominently.

TopSpeed's Best Movies with a Gran Torino:

• Gran Torino
• The Big Lebowski
• Fast & Furious
• Death Wish
• Starsky & Hutch

Unlike many TV show-adapted films, Starsky & Hutch was a reasonable success at the box office. The way Hollywood math works is that a film has to earn at least twice its budget just to break even. This is because the cost of distributing and advertising a movie is as expensive as shooting it. This one had a budget of $60 million and brought in $170 million at the box office for a tidy profit of $50 million.

3 Starsky & Hutch Hated The Car

No On-screen Chemistry

It has already been noted that Starsky & Hutch creator William Blinn was disappointed with the choice of the 1976 Ford Gran Torino, but the show's stars absolutely loathed the car. Paul Michael Glaser had a dislike for Fords in general and thought the Striped Tomato was big, ugly, and juvenile. He also brought up the legitimate issue that undercover cops probably wouldn't drive something that sticks out like a sore thumb, such as a bright red car with white vector stripes.

Paul Michael Glaser Said;

Once Glaser got behind the wheel of the Gran Torino, he hated it even more and went out of his way to abuse it, smashing into curbs and dumpsters, hoping to destroy it. As a passenger, David Soul was no fan either, noting that the suspension and handling of the Ford was so bad that he was constantly being tossed around during even non-chase scenes. Granted, there may have been some jealousy as the Gran Torino gained so much attention, but it was not known as the highest-performing ride in Ford history.

2 It Battled The General Lee (Sort Of)

There's A New Car Star In Town

This is kind of a weird thing, but in the very first episode of The Dukes of Hazzard, the Striped Tomato had a cameo. For some reason, Crazy Cooter was seen driving a red 1976 Ford Gran Torino with white vector stripes. He didn't race and wasn't involved in any kind of high jinks or shenanigans, he just drove it casually. Then, the car was never seen on the show again, nor was its appearance ever explained.

War Of The TV Car Icons

It's possible this was an inside joke or, more likely, a bit of taunting. The Dukes of Hazzard premiered on rival network CBS in 1979, which was the final year for ABC's Starsky & Hutch. The buddy cop show was slipping in the ratings and perhaps the entire Gran Torino in Hazzard County incident was meant to convey that there was a new superstar TV car in town. For what it's worth, The Dukes of Hazzard was the number nine most watched show in 1979, while Strasky & Hutch was number 36.

1 Some Original Striped Tomatos Still Exist

The Legacy Lives On

Of the estimated 10 1976 Ford Gran Torinos used on Starsky & Hutch, most are unaccounted for. After the show was canceled in 1979, the cars went back to Ford, who auctioned them off. Three of the original cars ended up in private collections, with one that was sold for scrap and refurbished with a 2.8-liter Ford V-6 for unexplained reasons. One of the nicer ones ended up at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, California, which is great because it really is a piece of history.

1976 Ford Gran Torino Values

(Values sourced from J.D. Power)

1976 Ford Gran Torino Market:

• Low Sale: $3,920
• Average Sale: $27,528
• High Sale: $60,500

(Auction prices sourced from Classic.com)

There were over 1,300 Ford Striped Tomato special edition cars sold, and many people simply modified their '76 Gran Torinos to look like the show vehicle, so they are rare, but not super rare. Any car with a direct connection to the TV series, however, is much more collectible. Bring a Trailer recently sold a Striped Tomato that was used as a static picture car on the show in May 2024 for $50,900. While that seems cheap for such an important ride, it's actually pretty steep for a 1976 Ford Gran Torino.